IMF plans Active Agenda to Support Global Recovery

IMF to sharpen its analysis of economic linkages and risks between countries

Efforts to improve stability of the international monetary system to continue

Reforms also under way to strengthen support for low-income countries

The new work program has been developed very much with these vulnerabilities in mind. A focus for the IMF in the lead-up to the Annual Meetings of its membership in September 2011 will be a set of new “spillover” reports aimed at improving our understanding of the interconnected nature of the world economy in order to support better policy collaboration at the global level. Other priority initiatives include advancing capital flows work and enhancing support for low-income countries.

In an interview, Reza Moghadam, Director of the IMF’s Strategy, Policy and Review Department, discusses the priorities for the IMF during the next six months.

IMF Survey online: How do you see the IMF’s role in shaping the post-crisis agenda?

Moghadam: The world today bears many of the scars of the crisis itself. Countries are only now starting to address the fiscal fallout from the crisis, financial sector repair and reform are incomplete, and the pace and quality of growth are concerns across our 187 member countries. These developments require a very active agenda for us as an institution, and the new work program is precisely the type of proactive agenda called for by a fragile global environment.

The IMF is in a unique position to engage governments on domestic and global economic issues of concern, both in the context of providing policy advice and analysis, and facilitating international policy cooperation. Let me give you a few examples.

Our regular bilateral surveillance promotes constructive dialogue with country authorities on key policy matters, while our key flagship products—the World Economic Outlook, the Global Financial Stability Report, the Fiscal Monitor, along with the Early Warning Exercise—take a global perspective on economic and financial developments.

Upcoming Spillover Reports—which look at five systemically important countries or regions—will cast a new light on the nature of economic and policy linkages between countries. We will also prepare a Consolidated Multilateral Surveillance Report for the IMF’s policy steering committee, the International Monetary and Financial Committee. This report will be discussed during the 2011 Annual Meetings, directly engaging senior policymakers on the most critical...